The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I November 21,2011

SHRED BIG RED
Michigan 45, Nebraska 17

fa
ANNA SCHULTE/Daily
The Michigan football team celebrates moments after beating Nebraska at home. It was serenaded with cheers of "Beat Ohio," as the Wolverines enter The Game with a better record than Ohio State for the first time since 2004.
Michigan shucks Huskers in Big House rout

By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
The only thing weaker than
the Nebraska offense on Satur-
day was Michigan Stadium.
A power outage left the Big
House blacked out for most of
the afternoon. Once the game got
underway, the No. 20 Michigan
football team's defense knocked
the lights out of the 17th-ranked
Cornhuskers in the Wolverines'
45-17 victory.
"This is a big win - huge - I
can't stress that enough," said
redshirt junior safety Jordan
Kovacs. "I think that this is the
best win that we've had since I've
been on the team, just because
it's so late in the year.
"I don't think that we've ever
had a game this late in November
that really meant as much as this
one."
Nebraska running back Rex
Burkhead entered the contest
ranked third in the Big Ten, aver-

aging 107 rushing yards through
the first 10 games of the season.
In the first half against Michi-
gan, he was held to four yards.
Four yards.
Burkhead finished with 36
yards, well short of his previous
season low of 55.
"I thought we were awful on
offense," said Nebraska coach
Bo Pelini. "We didn't execute.
We took ourselves out of drives.
It was not a good day for us on
offense."
It was another notch in Michi-
gan coach Brady Hoke's belt,
and another step closer to the
full resurgence of a Michigan
defense. Yet the defense's per-
formances are getting more con-
vincing.
After holding a weak Illinois
offense to 14 points last Saturday,
the Wolverines stifled Nebraska
(4-3, 8-3) - a team ranked sec-
ond in the Big Ten, scoring an
average of 32.9 points per game.
"Coming into the game, we

knew it was gonna be a big game,
both (teams) coming in 8-2," said
senior defensive tackle Mike
Martin. "We want to make a
statement every time we take the
field."
The game began with some
flash and some flair. The flash
was four F-16 jets performing
a flyover over the stadium. The
flair was the 65,000-person card
stunt combining to form a mas-
sive American flag during the
flyover.
After kickoff, it went more
flash and bang.
That flash was junior quar-
terback Denard Robinson, who
found his stride against the
Cornhuskers, rushing for 83
yards.
Robinson also burned Nebras-
ka through the air, going 11-of-18
in the passing game for 180 yards
and two touchdowns.
Redshirt sophomore running
back Fitzgerald Toussaint was
deadly on the ground, running

for 138 yards and a pair of scores
on 29 carries.
That bang was Michigan's
defense and special teams unit.
The Wolverines forced and
recovered two fumbles on sec-
ond-half kickoffs and blocked a
"munt. yfji ian a so p'l ea 'ft
a fake field goal that went for a
red-zone first down.
On defense, the Wolverines
forced and recovered another
fumble.
It was a long day for Nebraska
quarterback Taylor Martinez,
who was hounded by Michigan's
veteran defensive line to the tune
of three sacks.
Martinez forced passes
and came up empty. His final
line of 9-of-23 passing for 122 MA RIssA MccLAIN/Daily
yards hardly complimented the Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin was a force on Michigan's resurgent defen-
defense enough. sive line on Saturday against Nebraska.
The only real chink in the the Cornhuskers within a score interception - and a third-quar-
Michigan defense's armor was a of the Wolverines, 10-7. ter touchdown. The touchdown
54-yard pass from Martinez to After that, the Nebraska drive, however, began well inside
wide receiver Brandon Kinnie scores consisted of a field goal - Michigan territory.
late in the first quarter to pull afforded only by a Robinson See HUSKERS, Page 3B

Nebraska's special teams blunders The Game overshadows win
h l- ir crirn it rt i lit A/F' to i rctenr _.._ _..

ulJ '.'Wl 3P"I 1 U. ~tV Lltu IVJ1.u" JV ~lAJhilYI ~IFan

By TIM ROHAN
Daily Sports Editor
No longer will the special
teams be overlooked. Not if
you witnessed how it broke
one team's spirit and charged
the other. Not if you're either
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
or Nebraska coach Bo Pelini -
neither could explain why Sat-
urday's spotlight was reserved
for the unheralded group.
"I think (the special teams)
won us the game," said redshirt
junior safety Jordan Kovacs.
Attention to special teams
usually surfaces amid blun-
ders caused by ho-hum com-
placency that swallows the
transition phase of every game,
or, of course, when something
extraordinary happens. Hoke
was indulged Saturday in Mich-
igan's 45-17 win. His unit forced
two fumbles on kickoff returns,
a blocked punt and a successful

'Bet
Cel
shif

MARISSA MccLAIN/Daily
Senior linebacker J.B. Fitzgerald holds the ball he recovered-on a Nebraska
fumbled kickoff in the fourth quarter.

"Bea
faction
gan bet
Mic
Nebras
ter of a
Mic
words
ated at
"It is th
that sc
the pot
introdu
Januar
"Bea
chantir
time.
Fifth

.s start cheering Ryan Van Bergen smiled when
he heard the group of fans. He
at Ohio,' players cupped his ear and motioned the
crowd to get louder. He looked
ebrate as focus at senior defensive tackle Mike
tt OMartin, who cracked a smile. It
As to Ohio State was music to their ears.
Later, Van Bergen and Michi-
By TIM ROHAN gan Athletic Director Dave Bran-
Daily Sports Editor don did their traditional post-win
chest bump. Brandon wore a
at O-hi-o," shouted a small smile as wide as his face. It was
of fans behind the Michi- infectious.
nch. The crowd kept chanting
higan was soundly beating "Ohio," instead of "Ohio State,"
ka, late in the fourth quar- following Hoke's lead by never
45-17 win. calling the rival by its full name.
higan coach Brady Hoke's When the clock ran out, the
may well have reverber- players shook hands, then sprint-
round Michigan Stadium: ed to the northwest corner to
e most important game on sing The Victors with the student
hedule," his fist pounding section. Clocks in Schembechler
dium with each word at his Hall were ticking closer to next
actory press conference in week: "6 days, 21 hours," and
y. counting.
tt O-hi-o," the crowd kept "Beat O-hi-o," the whole sta-
ng. More fans joined each dium roared - louder than they
had cheered all game - as the
s-year senior defensive end players celebrated.


Before the Nebraskagame was
even over, everyone salivated,
knowing who awaited the Wol-
verines.
It's Ohio State week.
"When we were kneeing the
ball, I think that everyone was
thinking that in the back of their
head, like, 'Alright, that was a big
win, but it's on to the next one,'"
said redshirt junior safety Jordan
Kovacs.
"It's exciting - you get, excit-
ed," Hoke said.
"Look," he added, pointing
at the goofy grin he had on his
face - perhaps a mocking ges-
ture towards having to start
answering questions about Ohio
State just minutes after his team
trounced Nebraska.
"This could be a big one next
week," said fifth-year senior right
tackle Mark Huyge.
Saying The Game has been lop-
sided the past decade would be an
understatement. Michigan has
lost nine of the last 10 and is wal-
See THE GAME, Page 30

fake field goal that set up anoth-
er touchdown.
Maybe it was a reward for
the attention Hoke had paid it
all season. He cured early-sea-

son kickoff coverage problems
by working with the unit; he
showed faith in holder Drew
Dileo, who dropped a costly
See SPECIAL TEAMS, Page 3B


ISLAND INVITE
U The Michigan basketball team is set for a
first-round date with No.10 Memphis at the
Maui Invitational. And No. 6 Duke could be
waiting in the second round. Page 2B

BUCKEYE BLITZ
Michigan was swept at home by Ohio
State for the first time since 1986, which
was Red Berenson's third year as coach.
The Wolverines are reeling. Page 2B